364: My Week At The Magic Castle - 2017: Part Three

This podcast runs a little shorter than normal but provides a little local "color" surrounding the Castle. We first travel to Santa Monica to visit with Steve Spill and his "Magicopolis" (video tour below) then back to downtown Hollywood to Musso & Frank Grill which is known for their famous martinis. While there, we uncovered a lot of interesting stories about old (and new) Hollywood celebrities who frequent the bar/restaurant.

Since the conversations are shorter than normal, we have time to review John Bannon's "Move Zero" three DVD set which is for beginners and highly recommended.

Steve Spill, owner and performer at Magicopolis in Santa Monica, CA takes us on a guided tour of the building. For more information on his book, "I Lie for Money", be sure to listen to The Magic Word Podcast episode 218 at https://www.themagicwordpodcast.com/scottwellsmagic/steve-spill To hear the latest chat with Steve, live from Magicopolis, then visit: https://www.themagicwordpodcast.com/scottwellsmagic/364-my-week-at-the-magic-castle-2017-part-three available after 9:00 a.m. July 6, 2017

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:03:36 - Steve Spill drives us to lunch so we chat with him while he is driving from his theater, Magicopolis, in Santa Monica.

00:13:46 - Ruben Rueda has been a bartender at Musso & Frank Grill for 50 years and has quite a reputation.

00:23:10 - Sonny Bones, one of the servers at Musso and Frank Grill tells us some stories about the iconic restaurant.

00:28:33 - Bobby Caravella, AGM of Musso and Frank Grill expounds on several classic stories about Old Hollywood and those celebrities who have frequented and are frequenting the restaurant.

00:42:27 - Move Zero Vol. One DVD by John Bannon. Click Here for details.

00:50:34 - Move Zero Vol. Two DVD by John Bannon. Click Here for details.

00: 54:05 - Move Zeto Vol. Three DVD by John Bannon - Click Here for details

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218: Steve Spill - I Lie For Money

I'm reluctant to produce a podcast solely for the intent purposes of promoting something that someone wants to pitch; however, there are exceptions. And this is one of them.

Steve Spill has had a magical life...and it's not over yet! One could say that Steve "grew up" in the Magic Castle because his father, Sandy Spillman, was a long-time host and also conducted the seances there for many years. Through his early teenage years he had unprecedented access to hang out with many of the greats such as Dai Vernon, Charlie Miller, Francis Carlyle, Kuda Bux and many, many others. Steve also worked at the Jolly Jester with Bob Sheets in the early days of "bar magic" in Aspen, Colorado. Later, the two of them opened the "Brook Farm Inn of Magic" in Delaware. And for about the past 20 years, he has owned and operated "Magicopolis" in Santa Monica, California.

You can follow Magicopolis on Twitter @Magicopolis and find them on Facebook at http://facebook.com/MAGICOPOLIS (note the all caps for their name plus be sure to look for the "monkey" profile picture so you know you have the correct "Magicopolis")

Steve and I first met over 30 years ago when he came through to perform at Houston's Magic Island and I was one of the House Magicians. Although it was not quite like "two ships passing in the night", we had fallen out of touch with one another since then as we both followed our separate paths. When Steve contacted me with the idea of pitching his new book, I knew that we needed to catch up to talk about all the "water that has run under our bridges."

Steve begins at the end by talking about Magicopolis which he built and owns and where he and his wife, Bozene, appear weekly. He then talks about his many experiences at the Magic Castle and relates stories about the eight mentors at the Castle who shaped his future. He also talks about Bob Sheets and the Jolly Jester in Aspen as well as the Brook Farm Inn of Magic. There a lot of stories from his new book plus some that are not there bu only appear here in this podcast.

You can read many of these stories plus dozens more in Steve's new book, "I Lie for Money" coming out soon and only available through Amazon. You can Click Here for more details and to order your copy.

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Exclusive Interview with Professional Magician & Magic Theater Owner Steve Spill

Order your copy of Steve's book (and support The Magic Word) by clicking on the link below to Amazon.

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#194 - Theaters of Magic

With the closing of Houston's Magic Island in 2008, it's hard to find a public venue where people can go to see quality entertainment and magicians can find a place to ply their trade. Over the past few years though, some inspired people have been testing the waters to see if there is a market for magic in their areas.

Some started off with the idea of having a venue where they could perform their own material and hone it to perfection, break in some new material, and perhaps along the way get a following and find some who might hire them for more lucrative, long-lasting work. Some theaters offer opportunities for visiting magicians to perform.

Some, like Steve Cohen and his "Chamber Magic" in New York City, or Dennis Watkins and his "Magic Parlour" in Chicago, continue to feature just one performer without any replacements during his absence. These magic theaters, like Chicago's "Magic Cabaret" or "Magic Chicago" offer a more "theatrical experience" in a theater district or in a hotel room. Some offer just magic and perhaps some adult beverages while others offer an evening complete with a dining experience and perhaps some strolling magicians, too!

Though there are several impresarios of magic theaters spread across the U.S. whom I could have contacted, I selected just four random magic theater owner/operators: two from Florida and two from the San Francisco, California area. They represent different business strategies and long term goals.

http://bayareadinnershow.com http://danchanmagic.com Dan Chan Presents: Bay Area Magicians perfect for corporate events and family gatherings.

Bay Area's Best Dinner Show - Cupertino location 2013 Footage Check out our website http://bayareadinnershow.com for our newest videos!

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:02:28 - Erick & Kim Olson talk about "Wizardz" located in Kissimmee, Florida, a great tourist location just within 10 minutes away from Disney World. Erick likes to use his theater to break in new effects while featuring other magicians who pass through the area. Wizardz is open every Monday and seats about 50 people. They talk about competing with all the other tourist attractions in the area. Their Facebook page is http://Facebook.com/ErickWizardzOlson.

00:21:10 - David and Cheri Evangelista, owner/operator of Merlin's Theater next to their magic shop. Their theater is open one weekend every six to eight weeks where they selectively identify acts to come in and perform. That gives them time to advertise and promote the shows.

00:35:37 - Walt Anthony talks about his San Francisco Magic Parlor. The Parlor is inside the Chancellor Hotel Union Square Theatre where Walt spends four hours putting up the stage, sound and lights. They are open every weekend, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening. The decor is old style Parisian with the ambiance of Old Time San Francisco complete with theatrical story telling and magic stories of the area. 90% of the time the show features Walt Anthony; however, there have been instances when he has booked other acts outside of the area.

01:05:31 - Dan Chan, the Magic Man has been operating the "Bay Area Dinner Show" for the past three years. They are open on Mondays and have a variety of different sized rooms available for groups of 15 to 150. They size up or down to fit each size group. Their show also includes dinner and includes tableside close-up. Dan talks about his marketing campaign and how he gets people into the theater.

Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here. (please note: this RSS Feed subscription system may not work with Android systems). Remember, you can download it through iTunes. See the preview page by Clicking Here.